Architecture and Design

con·flict

How is it possible for civilizations once considered bitter rivals, to build and respond to the city’s ecosystem in a harmonious way?

From general observations of the project vicinity, the site showcases a very interesting phenomenon that is unique to the world. From Abbasids to British colonials, dozens of empires continuously invaded the city, imposing new outsider agendas and introducing major shifts in economic, social, and political strategies. Yet when applied to architecture, these conflicts brought very connected and harmonious buildings and spaces that responded to the local character in new ways.

This concept reveals that novel ideas can come from the joining and interplay of contradictory ideas. It amplifies disagreement and conflict to reach a new form of acceptance. It states that the collective brain of society and the spectral differences of people and cultures can stimulate a new fertile medium for idea-generation that surpasses any individual capability or intellect.

A Box of Collisions re-introduces design as an inclusive process, a system that is open for everyone to contribute and lead, and a place that is injected with honesty and constructive conflicts, and a space that serves as an open stage for heated debates where opinions can collect and develop. Using this underlying principle, The Building was formed as a constellation of redefined group of Fadhwas -Traditional Debate Spaces-, These were Implemented on various scales ranging from grand assembly spaces to smaller exaggerated stair landings, all to allow Serendipitous exchange of Ideas.

/wôr/

A City without fences

In bringing Trust back to a society. We are challenged with overt post-war effects, these psychosocial infections can take longer until recovery. As architects, we are tasked in healing ideas to remove weapons, fortresses and military images from the community, while maintaining sense of safety by other peaceful and creative means.

This project is a land reuse project of Al Kindy Military Fabrication Facility, a step ahead towards demilitarization of the city, as a unique site with obsolete land use situated on the east bank of Mosul. The concept is based on removing physical barriers from neighborhoods and to provide safety and privacy through grade separation, controlled sight lines, and a balance between visual privacy and natural surveillance.

The Design process aims towards providing a mixed used planning project with low-rise high-density housing units arranged as planned urban developments (PUDs) with shared public spaces and amenities, this project will help to provide quickly installed modular residential units on a brownfield and potentially contaminated site while promoting connectivity to the adjacent residential districts and recreational sites.

The construction process requires synergy between regional industries and local labor forces, by utilizing war remains as structural systems, and design the buildings elements with modular subsystems that can be installed with minimal training and simple machinery. This will stimulate the small fabrication workshops, incentivize the regional factories and provide new jobs and training opportunities for the low to modestly skilled labor groups.

/ˌīsəˈlāSH(ə)n/

Amidst the birth of technological disruptions of the current century, this is the time when our children are faced with uncertainty and rapidly changing atmosphere, the current social trends are pointing towards more isolation between the individuals and their society, and elevated competitiveness in the job markets and other sectors.

This small project is an educational attempt to reconnect our kids with their natural behavior